NEW DELHI: Indian firms hoping to ride the global biologics boom are finding the path far tougher than expected, as China tightens its grip further on biotech supply chains. Recent data suggests Chinese companies have bagged more than half of several recent project deals from US biotech companies, underscoring the challenge for Indian players trying to break into complex biologics.Unlike generics, where India leveraged cost efficiency and scale to capture global markets, biologics demand deep R&D capabilities, sophisticated manufacturing infrastructure and specialised talent, raising both entry barriers and financial risks, analysts say.

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Over the last few years, China has rapidly emerged as a major force in biotech, with biologics accounting for about 42% of its new drug approvals in 2023, up from 9% in 2015, cementing its position in global supply chains for complex niche biologics. Against this backdrop, Indian companies will need to recalibrate strategy if they are to carve out a meaningful share in advanced therapies.K V Subramaniam, president, Reliance Life Sciences, said: “In last seven years, China has come from behind and forged way ahead of India in biopharmaceuticals, driven by mission-driven govt policy, fast-track regulatory approvals and clearance of a huge drug approval backlog.”“Recent project flows suggest Chinese companies have been able to secure more than half of their new orders from US-biotech companies, indicating Chinese companies’ operational scale, cost competitiveness and established capabilities remain unmatched,’’ said Tausif Shaikh, India analyst pharma and healthcare at BNP Paribas.Market research firm, IQVIA estimates 118 biologics are losing patent protection in the US (2025–2034), representing a ~$232B global biosimilar market. India’s biosimilar exports, currently around $0.8 billion, are projected to grow five-fold to $4.2 billion by 2030, and then potentially to $30–35 billion by 2047.Shreehas Tambe, CEO & MD, Biocon says, said, “India’s biosimilars industry is at a pivotal stage — the early years were defined by cost efficiency and established India as a reliable producer of high-quality generic medicines at scale. The next phase will evolve from cost leadership to capability leadership.’’“Though India has the broad capability, it has to address gaps such as cell line engineering depth, legal/IP plus market access firepower in the US, manufacturing at commercial scale of newer modalities from hybrid science like cell and gene therapies,’’ said Suresh Subramanian, national lifesciences leader, EY-Parthenon India.

DIGHA/KOLKATA: Actor Rahul Arunodoy Banerjee’s lungs were filled with seawater and sand, suggesting his death was caused by drowning and not cardiac arrest, police said on Monday, citing a preliminary post-mortem report.Officers said they are looking at a range of factors to identify what led to the death: absence of rescuers nearby possibly because a drone-shot was underway, how long the actor remained in water before being pulled out and whether the basic safety protocol was followed.Banerjee (43), a popular face in the Bengali film, OTT and TV industry, died on Sunday evening while shooting for a TV series named ‘Bhole Baba Paar Karega’ off the Talsari beach in Odisha, around 8km from Digha. Sources in the shooting crew said the camera was still rolling when Banerjee lost balance and fell in the water, while trying to save his co-actress, before being swept away. He was brought out of the water by crew members and a lifeguard and rushed to Digha State General Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.“Lots of sand and salt water entered his body, causing his lungs to swell to nearly twice the normal size. A significant amount of sand and water was also found in his food pipe. The findings indicate he remained underwater for a long time, and the death was caused by drowning, not cardiac arrest,” said a police officer of East Midnapore. Viscera samples will be sent for forensic tests to determine the cause of death.“We are probing. No complaint has been lodged,” said East Midnapore police superintendent Angshuman Saha.A police officer in Odisha’s Balasore district told ANI, “The team neither gave any intimation nor obtained any permission for the shoot. Talsari Police are coordinating with Digha Police for legal action.”The crew had been shooting at Talsari since Friday. Co-actor Bhaskar Banerjee, who had left the beach before the tragedy struck, said it was a “mystery” how a routine honeymoon sequence (featuring Banerjee and Sweta Mishra) in ankle-deep water took a fatal turn. “The scene involved the wife hiding and the husband searching for her, a routine moment in a TV serial. It remains a mystery how it escalated beyond that,” he said.Santanu Nandy, an executive producer of ‘Bhole Baba Paar Karega’, said a final drone shot was underway when both Banerjee and Mishra fell. “As they walked in ankle-deep water, the actress slipped. Rahul, too, fell while trying to save her. She was rescued quickly, but it took us some time to rescue Rahul,” Nandy said.Cops said the final moments were captured on camera. “Footage shows Banerjee and Mishra walking hand in hand into the water. Suddenly, the actress falls, followed by Banerjee. Crew members then rush into the water. A man runs in from the right, rescues Mishra and places her on a boat. Banerjee, however, cannot be located immediately,” an officer said.

Crew members said neither Banerjee nor Sweta could swim.Bhagirath Jana, a lifeguard, said: “I was on duty since noon. I warned them against going deeper. The weather was worsening, tide was rising and strong winds were blowing — so they probably couldn’t hear me. When they started drowning, I jumped in. I rescued the actress first and helped her get on a boat. Then I brought the actor out on my shoulder. He had swallowed a lot of water. We gave him CPR and tried to drain water from his body before taking him to the hospital.“Banerjee’s driver Bablu Das, who was at the spot, said the actor was alive when brought to the shore, but had stopped breathing by the time he could be taken to the hospital. “We saw him in knee-deep water, then suddenly only his head was visible. Technicians immediately jumped into the water. There was a strong current at that spot. He tried to come forward repeatedly, but the water kept pulling him back,” Das said.

Talsari resident Badal Gangei, who was also at the spot, said, “Water in those sand pockets can be 6-7 feet deep. The production team was nearly 400 m away, on the shore. It was the drone operator who first spotted them drowning and alerted everyone.” Furthermore, since the remote location at Talsari had no direct road access. Rescuers had to carry an unconscious Rahul a considerable distance on foot before reaching a vehicle. Cops said this delay proved fatal. Although he was first rushed to a local facility in Talsari, he was later shifted to the Digha State General Hospital, where doctors declared dead on arrival.

NEW DELHI: Govt on Tuesday appointed Chanchal Kumar, an IAS officer of Bihar cadre, as the new information and broadcasting (I&B) secretary, while designating Sanjay Lohiya as the secretary of department of financial services (DFS). In the bureaucratic reshuffle, Vir Vikram Yadav has been appointed director general of civil aviation (DGCA), replacing Faiz Ahmed Kidwai.Kidwai, an MP-cadre IAS officer, has been appointed additional secretary in the personnel department. Lohiya will take over as secretary DFS when M Nagaraju retires on May 31.

Rejig sees appointment of 12 secretaries, 27 additional secretaries

Chanchal Kumar, currently in the department of north-east region, moves to I&B ministry, swapping places with Sanjay Jaju. Tuesday’s order included the appointment of 12 secretaries and 27 additional secretary level officers.Rohit Kansal, an AGMUT cadre officer of 1995 batch, has been appointed the new rural development secretary. Tourism secretary Srivatsa Krishna will be the new minority affairs secretary, while UIDAI chief executive Bhuvnesh Kumar will take charge as tourism secretary.Nagaland-cadre IAS officer Abhishek Singh, who has been promoted to the secretary rank, will take over as director general of National Testing Agency. Nivedita Shukla Verma, a 1991-batch IAS officer who is currently secretary, chemicals and petrochemicals, will take charge as secretary, department of administrative reforms and public grievances. Punjab-cadre IAS officer Tejveer Singh will be the new chemical and petro-chemicals secretary.Narendra Bhooshan, a UP-cadre officer, was named the new secretary of land resources department. The present minority affairs secretary, Chandra Sekhar Kumar, has been made CEO, National Rainfed Area Authority.Tuesday’s order also mentioned that Bharat Harbanslal Khera, a HP-cadre officer of 1995 batch, has been appointed OSD in MSME ministry, and he will take over as secretary on April 30.

Cricket Australia is all set to slash its contract list to be able to pay a premium to the likes of Captain Pat Cummins and his deputy, Travis Head, ahead of the busy schedule for Australia, which comprises 20 matches within the next 12 months.

Australia has a very busy season in the upcoming 12 months of international cricket. They have several Test matches lined up for the next year, which would seal their fate in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. A total of 20 Test matches will be played.

Australia’s total match count can go on to increase to 21 if the Kangaroos can hop into their third consecutive WTC final. The Pat Cummins-led side would also be aiming to secure their title from the Proteas after a defeat the last time at Lord’s.

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Cricket Australia to cut down central contracts to 21 ahead of busy Test schedule

Cricket Australia is all set to slash the contract list of cricketers associated with them to pay a premium to the likes of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh, and freewheeling deputy Travis Head, reported The Age.

Having offered 23 central contracts in recent summers, Cricket Australia will reduce that number to 21 when the National Selector in Chief, George Bailey, announces the new list on Wednesday, the 1st of April. Likely, several white ball players alongside the retired cricketer Usman Khawaja are likely to be snubbed.

Among some eminent names who might be omitted are Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and Sam Konstas. These omissions are made with the CA attempting to offer attractive central deals to Test and multi-format core cricketers in the national setup.

Pat Cummins revealed that massive offers from franchises have been made to Australian cricketers

Two of the star Australian cricketers in modern times, Pat Cummins and Travis Head, have reportedly been offered multiple deals from franchise teams around the world to opt out of international cricket. The Australian captain revealed that such lucrative offerings have been made to many international cricketers.

“Obviously, a big Ashes series, all the main guys want to play that series,” Cummins had said on the Business of Sport podcast. “For example, during the Hundred this season, we’ve got two Test matches against Bangladesh. All our guys that will play in that Test match have opted out of going to the Hundred auction, but that’s not going to be the case forever.”

He then also pointed out how many of these players are saying no to massive deals worth millions of pounds or even more for a three- or four-week tournament. He said that, rightly, at this moment these guys are willing to compete internationally, but this would not be the case forever.

Australian head coach highlights the main challenge for Australia in this WTC

The Australian head coach, Andrew McDonald, spoke about the biggest challenge for the Australian team in the coming years. The coach said that they are getting older than they were in 2023, when they had won the WTC title, and they have to rebuild a core side before the veterans part ways.

Australia have struggled with their transitions in the T20Is after many legends of the game retired in a short stint. Also, players like Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have picked up injuries at times and have not been able to make themselves available at all times; hence, rightly, the Aussies need to keep their backups strong.

“Our biggest challenge is that we’re four years older off the back of 2023,” head coach Andrew McDonald told SEN on Tuesday. “That’s going to be our challenge; we do have a cohort that is ageing, how we manage them, but it’s not unlike any other sport where players are playing older, and their experience is valued.”

He further added that a lot of new players are going to be tried across the journey, and they will have a core of players who will get the opportunity to display their best. Mitchell Starc has been their star red-ball bowler after Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missed the majority of Australia’s Test schedule in 2025-26.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Praising what he called “enormous accomplishments” in the war against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the joint Israel-US effort is weakening Tehran while removing major threats to Israel’s security.In an address in Hebrew ahead of Pesach, Netanyahu said the Iranian regime would collapse “sooner or later” and that Israel is building “new alliances with important countries in the region” to counter Tehran.He did not name the countries but said he hopes that “soon, I will be able to tell you more about these vital alliances”.“On the eve of this Festival of Freedom, Israel is stronger than ever. The entire world hears our lion’s roar in our struggle against the evil regime in Iran, a struggle in which we have achieved immense, enormous accomplishments”, Netanyahu said.The address came as Israel mourns four soldiers killed in ground operations in Lebanon. Netanyahu said the gains have come with “painful costs”.“Marking one month of our joint campaign with the US, we are systematically crushing the terrorist regime that for decades cried: ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’….the regime of the Ayatollahs made a massive effort to annihilate us, to take over the Middle East, and to threaten the entire world”, he said.“It tried to promote these murderous ambitions through the development of nuclear programmes and ballistic missiles, the funding and arming of terror proxies around us, and by weathering the heavy sanctions imposed upon it”, Netanyahu said.He said Iran’s long-term spending on its military ambitions has yielded little.“Now, I want to tell you. Over the years, all of this has cost Iran nearly a trillion dollars. And now it can be said. That trillion has gone down the drain”, he said.Drawing on Passover imagery, Netanyahu said Israel has struck repeated blows against its adversaries.“we have dealt ten plagues upon the axis of evil” including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, groups in Judea and Samaria, the Houthis in Yemen, and multiple targets inside Iran.Among the actions against Iran, he cited attacks on “their nuclear programme, their missiles, the regime’s infrastructure, its forces of oppression, and the ‘Plague of the Firstborn’, or in our case, the blow to the senior leadership”.“From the tyrant Khamenei, to the nuclear scientists, and onto the master-murderers of the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij, not to mention Nasrallah, Haniyeh, Deif, Sinwar, and many, many more”, Netanyahu said.He said Iran is now “weaker than ever” while Israel is “stronger than ever”, but added that the war is not yet over.Netanyahu also said global attitudes towards Iran are shifting, with some leaders privately acknowledging the threat.“I spoke with leaders in the Middle East in secret and in public meetings. I spoke with leaders in Europe. I also spoke with leaders in the US, with US presidents. They did not internalise the danger. Today, there is no one who does not understand the magnitude of the threat. There are those who tell me in private conversations. ‘Prime minister, we understand. We are afraid to say it, but we understand’. And there are those who say. ‘We understand’, and, thank God, they are also acting”, he said.Reaffirming ties with Washington, Netanyahu said the joint effort has delivered “crushing blows” to Iran, leaving the regime “shaken” and suggesting it is “destined to fall”.He said Israeli operations “Rising Lion” last year and the ongoing “Roaring Lion” have significantly degraded Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities.The speech has been interpreted by some analysts as laying the groundwork for a possible US decision to end the war without a formal agreement.US President Donald Trump has recently suggested the conflict may soon conclude, indicating that Washington could stop the war after achieving its objectives.Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid criticised Netanyahu’s speech as “arrogant”, accusing him of having achieved only one thing, “dismantling us from within”.Lapid linked his criticism to the government’s recent budget and the passage of a controversial death penalty bill.

NEW DELHI: The Centre has moved to extend its digital media rules to news and current affairs content shared by non-publisher users on social media platforms, proposing changes that expand the reach of Part III of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, beyond registered publishers.In draft amendments issued on March 30, the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has invited stakeholder comments till April 14, signalling a move to strengthen compliance requirements for intermediaries and expand oversight of online content.A key proposal seeks to make it clear that Part III of the Rules — applicable to digital news publishers — will also apply to “news and current affairs content” shared on social media by users who are not registered publishers.While the draft itself focuses on clarifying applicability and strengthening oversight mechanisms, officials indicated the framework could enable action on such content through the existing grievance redress process overseen by the Inter-Departmental Committee, though the draft does not spell out specific actions.It also proposes changes under Part II, including the insertion of a new Rule 3(4), which requires intermediaries to follow government-issued advisories, directives and guidelines as part of their legal responsibilities under Section 79 of the IT Act. It further states that platforms must retain user data as required under the Rules.The draft also expands the role of the Inter-Departmental Committee under Rule 14, allowing it to examine not only complaints from users but also cases referred directly by the government.The ministry, in its notice, said the amendments were intended to ensure “an Open, Safe, Trusted and Accountable Internet” and to “strengthen compliance with clarifications, advisories and directions issued by the ministry”, while improving how digital content is regulated.Governement has described the proposed changes as “clarificatory and procedural”, aimed at furthering legal certainty and strengthening the enforceability of its directives.